The present invention relates to an electrical connecting apparatus for use in an electrical performance test or an inspection such as a power supply test of a device under test such as a semiconductor wafer having a plurality of integrated circuits.
As one of the electrical connecting apparatuses or the probe cards of this kind, there is one including a support member having an upper surface and a lower surface, a wiring board arranged on the lower surface of the support member, and a probe board arranged on the lower side of the wiring board (Patent Document 1).
This probe card 100 includes a circular plate-shaped probe board 106 having a plurality of contactors or probes 102 on a lower surface 104, a circular flat-plate-shaped wiring board 110 arranged on an upper surface 108 of the probe board, a support member 114 arranged on an upper surface 112 of the wiring board 110 to reinforce the wiring board 110, and an annular thermal deformation restriction member 116 arranged on the upper side of the support member as shown in FIG. 9.
The support member 114 has a circular plate-shaped center portion 114a, an annular portion 114b coaxially extending around the center portion 114a, a plurality of connection portions 114c extending outward in the radial direction from the center portion 114a and connected to the annular portion 114b, and a plurality of radial portions 114d integrally continuing to the outsides of the connection portions 114c and extending outward in the radial direction from the annular portion 114b as shown in FIG. 9(A).
The wiring board 110 has a slightly larger diameter dimension than a virtual circle joining the outer ends of the radial portions 114d of the support member 114. Also, at the annular circumferential portion of the upper surface 112 of the wiring board 110 are annularly arrayed and arranged multiple connectors 118 to be connected to electrical circuits of a tester (not shown) as shown in FIG. 9(A). Each connector 118 has a plurality of terminals (not shown).
At the center region on the lower surface of the wiring board 110 are arranged multiple electrical connecting terminals (not shown) corresponding to the respective terminals of the connectors 118. As shown in FIG. 9(A), at the center region on the upper surface 112 of the wiring board 110 are arranged multiple electronic elements 122, such as multiple relays switching the electrical connecting terminals to be connected to the terminals of the connectors 118 depending on the test contents or interrupting wiring circuits (not shown) of the wiring board 110 in an emergency, capacitors for charge or alternating-current erasure, and so on, depending on the type of the power supply test.
Recently, there is a demand for an electrical connecting apparatus or a probe card that enables a simultaneous test of multiple integrated circuits on a semiconductor wafer, along with which more and more electronic elements have been arranged on the wiring board. Accordingly, the wiring board has increased its size and weight.
Under such circumstances, an operator performing a replacement operation of the probe cards grips the support member of the probe card and carries the probe card to a desired location.
However, since the operator is required to firmly hold the large-sized and weighted probe card so as not to drop it at the time of carrying it, there has been a problem in which the operator touches the electronic elements on the wiring board by mistake and breaks the electronic elements themselves or a problem of disconnection of the wires of the electronic elements.
Also, the aforementioned probe card causes the following problem at the time of a power supply test.
At the time of the power supply test, the temperature of a stage on which a semiconductor wafer as a device under test is mounted is controlled in accordance with the integrated circuits formed on the semiconductor wafer. However, the semiconductor wafer is heated by the temperature of the stage, and the lower surface of the probe card is heated by the radiant heat of the heated semiconductor wafer. Accordingly, there has been a problem in which the temperature difference occurs between the upper surface and the lower surface of the probe card, in which the probe card is bowed downward in a protruded form, and in which the positions and the heights of the contactors vary.
To cope with the above problem, there is proposed a technique (e.g., Patent Document 2) of making the support member as a reinforcing plate with use of stainless steel (SUS) having a lower thermal expansion coefficient than that of the wiring board to restrict the bowing of the wiring board by this support member. However, this cannot restrict the bowing of the wiring board caused by the temperature difference sufficiently.
Patent Document 1: WO 2006-126279A1                Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 3096197        